Gluten-free vaccine trial underway

A world-first vaccine designed in Melbourne eight years ago is being trialled with the aim of ending the need for gluten-free diets.

An international trial is underway to test a vaccine scientists hope will end the need for coeliacs to adhere to gluten-free diets.

News Corp Australia says the trial comes eight years after a Melbourne-designed injection was shown to be safe in the first patients.

It's hoped the treatment will allow the immune system's abnormal toxic response to gluten to be reprogrammed allowing 160,000 Australians with coeliac disease to avoid a strict lifelong gluten-free diet.